The opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD 20) took place at 4:00 PM on September 19 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. With the theme "Harmonic Heart Beat", the program aims to send a message about the connection between people, sports and culture.
According to the plan, Japan is expected to spend about 7 billion yen (about 46.5 million USD) for the opening ceremony, after adding 2 billion yen compared to the initial budget. About 70-80% of the total budget is allocated to the opening program.
This investment level is considered relatively economical compared to some major sports events before. Japan optimally chooses resources, focusing on artistic ideas instead of racing with large-scale performances.
Technology still appeared in the opening ceremony but did not play a central role. The organizers combined projection technology with human movements and flags to create effects on the stadium. Notably, an industrial robot arm system invested in hundreds of millions of yen will control the flags with high accuracy.
Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi, a famous face of Japanese cinema, was assigned to host the opening ceremony. The selection of a film director shows that the organizers are aiming for a program with story, artistic depth instead of simply a light and visual effects performance.
Thousands of volunteers, dancers and local martial artists have been mobilized and trained for many months. The unique cultural elements of the Chubu region are also integrated to create identity for the event.
Another highlight is the lighting ceremony of the fire tower. Japan built a journey to converge three sources of fire from Tokyo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Nagoya Castle. The three sources of light are meaningful about history, peace and connection.
Freestyle wrestling legend Saori Yoshida, the owner of 3 Olympic gold medals, leads the torch relay journey. About 1,000 people, including famous former athletes and students, participated in the torch relay through 16 districts of Nagoya.
ASIAD 20 gathers about 15,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and territories. The delegations compete in 43 sports with 71 sub-sports, aiming for 469 sets of medals.
The Vietnamese Sports Delegation participated with 348 athletes, competing in 33 sports, aiming to win 4-6 gold medals and be in the top 20 overall. Expected sports include shooting, sepak takraw, karate, wushu, athletics and boat racing.
At the opening ceremony, volleyball player Le Thanh Thuy and player Dinh Quang Kiet of U23 Vietnam were selected to hold the flag for the Vietnam Sports Delegation.
